Government announces another 13 Smart Cities with Lucknow on top

The government has announced 13 winners of Fast track Smart City competition and Lucknow topped the list. Others are Warangal, Dharamsala, Chandigarh, Raipur, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Panaji, Port Blair, Imphal, Ranchi, Agartala and Faridabad - in that order.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 24 May 2016.

Various criteria for being labeled as a Smart City are - assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation. Under the Smart City Mission, a total of 100 cities across the country will be identified and developed as smart cities by 2019-20. The Union government will provide financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.
Already 20 smart cities were selected during 2015-16 as per the Mission guidelines. Another 40 would be selected during 2016-17 and the remaining 40 during the next financial year. Each city that will be selected in different rounds of competition will be given central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore each during the subsequent three financial years. State governments and respective urban local bodies will be expected to provide matching funds of the same amount to the cause.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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